The present invention pertains to athletic or sporting events, especially those that involve individuals or small groups of participants—for example a cross-country or marathon runner for illustration. Each runner in this example has an identifier that distinguishes her from the other runners in the same event. Traditionally, this identifier comprises a “bib number,” meaning a number (usually an integer, but it may be alpha-numeric or any other defined symbol) that is printed on a placard that in turn can be pinned, clipped or otherwise attached to the runner's clothing so that the bib number is visible to an observer during the sporting event. Such a placard is usually made of a flexible but preferably durable, waterproof, material. It may be suspended, for example around the user's neck or arm, rather than attached to the clothing. Alternatively, or in addition, the bib number may be attached to the participant's bicycle, boat, motorcycle, or other equipment.
It is known to provide sporting event photographs after the event for inspection, selection and distribution via a computer network. Typically photographs are taken, and bib numbers are recognized by human visual inspection. Those numbers can be associated with a roster (or database) of participants in the event. The photographs (actually digital files containing the photographic content) are transferred to a computer network server, and access to the server enables the participants or others to browse the photos, order prints, etc.
According to U.S. Pat. No. 6,985,875 the identifying data can include a name of an event participant, a number corresponding to a number worn by the event participant, the date and time the photograph was taken, or a code captured from a component as it passes a sensor. Such a component can be passive or active and can include a bar code, inductive device, RFID tag or an electronic transmitting device which is worn by the event participant. The event participants may be informed of the identifying data by posting the identifying data associated with each photograph so that it is made available to the participants of the event (or friends and family) for later use in searching the server. The photographs are cataloged in the server according to the identifying data and can be subsequently ordered using the server which is typically an Internet web-site.
The prior art is lacking in several respects. For example, recognizing bib numbers by human observation is time consuming and expensive. Imagine the effort to sort out thousands of images of thousands of runners in the New York Marathon. Another difficulty is that even if pictures are matched to a participant, the location where the picture was taken is often unknown, unless a person who took the picture records and provides the location data, or an observer of the picture happens to recognize the location in the picture. A user of a social networking web site, for example Facebook®, can manually upload and “tag” a photo with descriptive information, but this process is cumbersome and may not be reliable. In general, random photos of an event may be interesting, especially to the participants, and perhaps her family members or teammates, but their utility is limited without associating reliable time, location and route information. The present invention, in various embodiments, seeks to provide novel products and services by combining inputs from various data sources, and processing the inputs in new ways.